Thieves are turning Lego bricks into hard cash, according to police

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Thieves are turning Lego bricks into hard cash, according to police

From Arizona to New York, alleged thieves are turning those tiny iconic plastic interlocking bricks you grew up with into cold, hard cash.

On New York’s Long Island on Friday, a 53-year-old woman was arraigned on grand larceny charges for allegedly stealing about $60,000 worth of Lego sets and trying to sell them on eBay, the Nassau County Police Department said in a statement.

Gloria Haas was arrested Thursday after allegedly stealing 800 sets of the 80-year-old toys from a Long Island storage facility and moving them to a facility in another town, police said. She had intended to sell the toys on eBay, officials said.

It was not known whether Haas has an attorney and she was not immediately available for comment Saturday.

Authorities are not saying, but alleged thieves could be capitalizing on the enduring popularity of the simple little bricks which generated $1.1 billion in profits last year for the Danish toymaker.

“The Lego Movie,” which was released in February, made $69 million in its opening weekend and has grossed more than $250 million so far, according to Box Office Mojo.

In Phoenix, police arrested four people allegedly involved in an elaborate Lego theft scheme, according to CNN affiliate KPHO.